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Nature 434, 835-838 (14 April 2005) | doi:10.1038/434835a; Published online 13 April 2005

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Neurobiology:  Channels for pathfinding

Timothy Gomez1

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TRP channels are best known for their role in sensory systems: detecting heat and cold, taste, pain and so on. Unexpectedly, they have also been shown to help the growing axons of nerve cells find their way.

The adult nervous system is characterized by a complex network of neurons and their target cells, which are wired up during development when neurons extend processes called axons. The paths taken by axons depend on the movement of their terminal 'growth cones' — structures that control the direction and rate of axon extension in response to molecular cues in the environment.

  1. Timothy Gomez is in the Department of Anatomy, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
    e-mail: Email: tmgomez@wisc.edu

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